Nokia stock balances AI growth against lower cash conversion

Nokia's third-quarter report pointed to accelerating demand for AI infrastructure, but also higher cash requirements for supply and restructuring. The company published the figures on October 22, saying reported net sales rose 10 percent year over year to EUR 5.154 billion, while sales increased 9 percent on a constant-currency basis. The Nokia Q3 interim report also showed stronger comparable profitability.

Nokia stock traded at EUR 7.78 on Lang & Schwarz at 09:48 CET on Monday, November 2, 2026; investors can follow the real-time quote of Nokia stock. The report itself did not trigger a change to the company's full-year comparable operating profit outlook.

AI and cloud drive network growth

Network Infrastructure was the main operating growth engine. Sales in the segment rose 15 percent on a constant-currency basis, with IP Networks up 43 percent and Optical Networks up 18 percent. Nokia said sales to AI and Cloud customers increased 123 percent, while related order intake rose 118 percent to EUR 1.5 billion.

Comparable operating profit increased 35 percent to EUR 605 million from EUR 448 million a year earlier. Comparable operating margin expanded to 11.7 percent from 9.5 percent, a gain of 220 basis points. Reported operating profit moved in the opposite direction, falling to EUR 196 million from EUR 252 million, as accelerated restructuring and integration costs weighed on the reported result. Reported operating margin was 3.8 percent, compared with 5.4 percent in the prior-year quarter.

Management expects the combined Optical Networks and IP Networks businesses to grow 25 percent to 30 percent in 2027. For 2026, Nokia raised the underlying assumption for those businesses above its previous 18 percent to 20 percent range, while keeping the group comparable operating profit outlook at EUR 2.1 billion to EUR 2.6 billion. Nokia also expects fourth-quarter sales to rise 20 percent to 24 percent sequentially.

Cash investment changes the outlook

The stronger demand outlook comes with a higher near-term funding requirement. Nokia plans to invest an additional EUR 400 million in working capital during 2026 to secure supply and support expected growth in 2027. As a result, the company lowered its free cash flow conversion assumption to 35 percent to 55 percent of comparable operating profit.

Nokia also increased its expected 2026 restructuring and related charges to EUR 1.1 billion. Associated cash outflows are expected to reach EUR 800 million to EUR 900 million. The company said it is accelerating restructuring in Europe and remains on track to complete the Infinera integration by the end of 2026, one year ahead of its original plan, with EUR 200 million in net synergies.

AI-RAN remains another strategic development. Nokia said it completed an AI-RAN call with T-Mobile and NVIDIA in a live operator network and is moving the platform toward commercial deployment. The company also reported spectral-efficiency gains of more than 20 percent in live environments.

Market participants can review current market reports for the broader European trading backdrop. Nokia's next scheduled milestone is its fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 report on January 28, 2027. More news and analyses on Nokia stock are available in the company topic.

Nokia at a glance

• Company: Nokia Oyj
• ISIN: FI0009000681
• Real-time quote: EUR 7.78 on Lang & Schwarz, Monday, November 2, 2026, at 09:48 CET
• Third-quarter sales: EUR 5.154 billion, up 10 percent reported year over year
• Comparable operating margin: 11.7 percent in Q3 2026
• 2026 comparable operating profit outlook: EUR 2.1 billion to EUR 2.6 billion